ABSTRACT
Pathological phenomena of blindsight, anosognosia, amnesia, prosopagnosia and commissurotomy are examined together with parallel ‘normal’ phenomena: subliminal perception, anaesthesia, implicit memory and thought, hypnosis and the physiological basis of the control of voluntary action. These examples of dissociation have implications for the integrity and validity of consciousness. Not only do unconscious processes influence and determine behaviour: complex processes such as perception, memory and judgement can occur independently of consciousness which appears to cross-classify them as Churchland (1983) surmised. It is concluded that there is now overwhelming evidence to refute the claim that consciousness is a transparent, unified, coherent system that plays an important role in the control of behaviour. The implication is that folk-psychological concepts require overhaul. Theoretical accounts of the relation between conscious and non-conscious processes are discussed.
